Goblin Market Summary

The poem Goblin Market, written by Christina Rossetti and dedicated to her sister, begins with two sisters, Lizzie and Laura, hearing the calls of goblin men trying to entice people to buy their fruit.

Despite Lizzie's warnings not to, before Lizzie ran home, Laura approaches the goblin men and trades a lock of her hair for some fruit and proceeds to gorge herself and then return home.

After Laura eats the goblin men's fruits she begins to waste away, causing Lizzie to eventually go and see the goblin men in the market. /Despite the goblin men trying to tempt Lizzie like they did Laura, Lizzie stands firm, casuing them to try to fill her mouth with their fruits but as she squeezes her mouth shut, she instead just gets covered in the juice. When Lizzie gets home, Laura kisses the juice causing her to be painfully cured.

Lizzie and Laura become wives and mothers and tell the story to their children, as a cautionary tale.